A peek into Korean Air’s new Airbus A380

Korean Air has rolled out their new A380 “superjumbo” on their New York City – Seoul route. The airline waved off the first flight from New York across the Pacific Ocean on August 9. Onboard the new superjumbo, the aircraft will carry 407 passengers — considerably less than the 525 that the A380 is capable of. This makes space for a more spacious cabin, with 301 passengers in economy class, 94 lie-flat sleeper seats spaced six feet apart on the upper business deck and 12 first-class suites. The aircraft also holds three bars, all for premium passengers — the Celestial bar, a cocktail lounge at the rear of the business class upper deck, another self-service bar at the front of the business-class deck, and a bar reserved for the use of first-class passengers only. The first class chairs have been replaced by 12 Kosmo “suites” estimated to have cost about $230,000 apiece to build and install. A new unique feature for passengers on board will be the world’s first in-flight duty free store, a compact area selling cosmetics, perfumes, liquor and accessories. Magnets are used to firmly hold them through air turbulence.

The airline will take delivery of five more A380s later this year and plans to fly them to Hong Kong, Bangkok, New York, Paris and Los Angeles. Another five A380s will arrive by 2014.